#hackett x illusive man

[x3no9]

Animated GIF (sketches) for my latest Harper x Hackett fic. I am really enjoying this fic, so fun to write.

I know it's fluffy.

[hackett-out]

“Steven, who is this?” Rea asked, pointing to an old photo sitting on a shelf. Among other frames filled with long passed friends or ships he’d served on this one was different; this one encompassed a larger field outside of his small squad in the foreground. It made her think of Kaidan and Ashley, flanking her for a photo op on the citadel months - no, years ago now. 

But that wasn’t what got her attention.

“Hm, let me see that.” 

He scanned the photo for the person she pointed out, squinting his eyes as if he hadn’t seen the picture every day. Behind his squad in the distance was another, a mercenary group circling a gear crate in mid-conversation. A woman was laughing, her hand outstretched to rest against a man’s shoulder - obviously her partner - who was joined in on the joke. 

But the man who caught her interest stood between them, taller than both by a couple heads, not sharing the laughter with either teammate. Instead, he stood with one hand on his earpiece, talking to someone you couldn’t see while his eyes stared straight at the camera. Bright blue eyes and dark, perfectly coiffed hair made Rea’s gut twist in easy recognition, but maybe Steven didn’t...

“Harper,” he said, nodding as he set the picture back down on the shelf. “That’s...Jack Harper.”

“You know him at all?”

He nodded again, crossing his arms over his chest. How long had it been, twenty? Thirty years? 

Steven’s hands were so rough, but Jack’s always seemed perfectly soft, even in the middle of a battlefield. Not that he’d distract the merc in the middle of a battle, save for that time he’d patched Steven’s wound after an ambush. He was dripping with intelligence and sarcasm, matched round after round by Steven’s and somehow, that translated into stolen, fevered kisses before --

“Oh god, you’ve slept with him haven’t you?”

Steven blinked slowly. “W-what?”

“You always get that far-away look when you’re thinking of someone you’ve slept with.”

He cleared his throat, crossing his arms over his chest and assuming what most people would say was an annoyed pout. “I don’t do that.”

Rea continued to laugh to Steven’s astonishment, and when she finally caught her breath, hanging on to his broad shoulders for dear life, all she could say to him was “I can’t believe my life right now.”

[aloha-solar]

The Spaces Between the Stars: Chapter One

AO3 is here

Pairing: fem!Shep x Kaidan

Rating: M

Ex-Cerberus Operative Miranda Lawson was not a doctor. The Alliance military and the staff at King James Hospital made that quite clear when she sent in an inquiry to join their team. They said that while they appreciated civilian aid, “Miss Lawson was not equipped to handle the delicacies of medical aid on severely injured patients.” In an ordinary case, Miranda would have agreed with them. She didn’t know how to perform an appendectomy. She didn’t have a clue on the proper procedure to amputate a limb. Hell, if she needed to deliver a baby, Miranda felt pretty sure she would end up telling the mother to keep her legs crossed until the doctors arrived.

But Commander Shepard wasn’t an ordinary case. Miranda rebuilt the woman from scratch, fitted her with different cybernetics to repair the pieces they couldn’t replicate from ordinary skin tissue, and made her look and perform better than before. She brought a clinically brain-dead woman back to life. Whatever medical expertise that was, Miranda had it.

But the Alliance didn’t want an ex-terrorist working on their galactic hero. They wanted an actual doctor, and Miranda felt pretty sure most of the doctors in the hospital never worked on someone who ended up being as much synthetic as organic. She sent another fifty letters, all of them rejected. But she still waited. People always came around…even if it did take them a while.

“Are you serious about all this, princess?” Jack asked one night. “You seriously think they’re going to let some cheerleader with nice tits into one of their secret operations?”

“To be honest, Miranda, that does sound a little bit far-fetched,” Kasumi said. “Okay, well, more than a little, but I’m trying to be nice.” Miranda fought against rolling her eyes. The three women weren’t exactly friends, but when the whole universe seemed to be on the brink of destruction only a month before, it seemed only fair to let bygones be bygones, even though Jack still probably wanted to paint her bedroom with Miranda’s innards, while Kasumi most likely stole half of Miranda’s credits while Miranda was watching. However, Miranda wouldn’t have even sought out the position if it weren’t for Jack and Kasumi: several of Jack’s students were being treated at the same hospital, and Jack caught a glimpse at Shepard when she got lost after visiting hours. Kasumi got access into Alliance records during her work on the Crucible and discovered the files detailing Shepard’s rescue and her current medical condition. Jack had gotten the message to Miranda first, while Kasumi ended up sneaking into their comm channel and spamming the chat with all the data she could find about Shepard’s status.

Miranda drummed the rim of her wine glass, like she was playing a piano. “Why not?” she said. “I know every piece of Shepard’s body, both inside and out. I know what pieces of her are still organic, and what areas are heavily synthetic. I spent two years of my life trying to bring her back.”

“This isn’t some kind of fucked-up Frankenstein shit show,” Jack said. “This is actually treating a person.”

“She crash-landed on Earth,” Miranda pointed out.

“Yeah, but there was still an intact body.”

“And who gave Shepard the parts to keep that intact body? When we first got her, she was more like a pile of meat than an actual human. If the Alliance is working on an intact body, they’ve got the Lazarus Project to thank for that.”

“That’s not the fucking point.”

“It’s a point enough.”

“Maybe the Alliance is upset that the woman who rebuilt the Commander Shepard wasn’t actually Alliance-affiliated,” Kasumi said. “Or at least, she wasn’t at the time.”

“I’m still not.”

“There you go,” Kasumi said, taking a sip of her neon-orange drink. Miranda wondered if Kasumi drank enough of it, she would actually be visible when she cloaked herself. “They want to keep everything in the family. Better to not risk an outside source ruining the Alliance’s poster girl.”

“The queen of the girl scouts,” Jack muttered into her bottle of beer.

“So if the Alliance screws anything up, they’d end up blaming me and my Cerberus background,” Miranda said. She downed the last of her wine. In the dim light of the bar, it looked a little too much like blood.

“Yeah,” Kasumi said. “They screw up, they can blame Cerberus for shoddy workmanship. They make her as good as new, it was all the technological advances of the Alliance.” Miranda snorted. She grabbed the wine bottle and poured another glass, nearly overfilling it and spilling it all over the table.

“You’d think that because we worked with her, we’d actually get a chance to see her,” Miranda said, more into her wineglass than her tablemates.

“I think it’s more ‘forced into helping her on a suicide mission’, princess,” Jack said. She opened another bottle of beer with her teeth. Miranda winced and prayed that the white stuff she saw was beer froth and not Jack’s teeth chipping away. Kasumi peered at Jack from underneath her hood and caught the bottlecap when Jack tossed it to the side. “Besides, Kasumi’s still a thief, so they don’t want her stealing their fucking medical equipment. You were on the run for six-goddamn-months, so they don’t know what the fuck you were up to: you could have still been with the Illusive Man for all the Alliance knew. And I’m the Psychotic Biotic, so that’s totally someone they want around the Savior of the Galaxy.”

“Are they calling her that now?” Kasumi said, taking an orange slice from her drink and squeezing it onto the table. She dabbed at the juice spots with her glove. “I can see the air quotes around it already.”

“The point is,” Miranda said, “the rest of the Normandy crew—even Garrus and Tali—get to see her whenever they come back. We’re the poor idiots pushed off to the side.” Miranda swallowed the rest of her wine in the glass, before grabbing the bottle and finishing it off in three long gulps. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, before standing up so abruptly that she made her chair fall backwards and the table wobble. Kasumi grabbed her drink without spilling a drop. She made a grab for Jack’s at the same time Jack did, spilling the rest of the beer onto the floor.

“What the fuck, princess?” Jack said, standing up too.

“You don’t need to follow me,” Miranda said. “I’m going to go to the hospital again. I just need an official explanation other than the vague political bullshit they gave me.”

“You just downed a whole bottle of wine in like ten fucking minutes,” Jack said. “You’re going to be shitfaced walking in there.”

“Liquid courage,” Miranda said.

“Oh my God.”

“Why are you questioning it?” Kasumi said, taking another few sips of her drink before dumping it into a potted plant just a few steps away from the table. “It’s either going to go extraordinarily well or extraordinarily poorly. Whatever it is, it’s great entertainment.”

“Kasumi—” Miranda said, but Kasumi cut her off by cloaking herself. Jack rolled her eyes and sucked at the beer bottle, trying to get the last dregs.

“Are you coming?” Miranda asked. Jack spat the bottle back out onto the table. It bounced and rolled off next to the potted plant that Kasumi threw her drink in.

“And miss the chance to see the Cerberus cheerleader embarrass herself? Fuck no,” Jack said.

“Good,” Miranda said, in a tone that implied the opposite. With legs wobblier than a baby giraffe, she led the invisible Kasumi and the (unfortunately) still visible Jack out of the bar and onto the sidewalk. Jack quickly motioned for a taxi and forced Miranda in first, then Kasumi, then Jack.

“Take us to King James Hospital,” Miranda said. Her stomach was churning like crazy. She wondered if wine vomit stained fabrics in the same way actual wine did.

“So what’s the plan?” Kasumi asked as she uncloaked herself.

“I dunno. Probably laugh at her when she pukes all over Admiral Hackett,” Jack said.

“I’m just trying to get an explanation,” Miranda said, shooting Jack a glare that should have killed her five times over. Unfortunately, Jack was still alive. Even worse, she kept snarking on Miranda.

“Remember how after Pragia I said I was going to spill your guts all over the walls?” Jack said, snickering. “Looks like you’re about to do it yourself, cheerleader.”

“Can we not go that far?” Kasumi said. “I am not in the mood to see if a test-tube human throws up differently than me.”

“I mean, she’s gotta be flawed somewhere, right?” Jack said. Her face flickered in the streetlamps, making her look ghost-like. “Seems not even Little Miss Fucking Perfect can avoid getting hungover.”

“Can we please stop now?” Miranda asked, clutching her stomach. The bottle of wine on an empty stomach—“You need to eat carbs before you go nuts on the alcohol!” Kasumi said when Miranda ordered the wine, but of course she didn’t listen—seemed to only get worse the longer it took to get to the hospital. Or maybe it was the nerves. Miranda sent in a lot of letters to the hospital, but she’d never actually gone in and spoken to the doctors face-to-face. Maybe she never had the time. Maybe she didn’t want to interrupt them. Maybe she was scared at taking the rejection in-person. It felt like one of the Illusive Man’s tricks, only there was no way to charm herself out of answering it. She put her head on the cool window and closed her eyes as Jack and Kasumi argued as to whether Jack could or couldn’t get alcohol poisoning based on her implant.

Eventually, the car slowed to a stop. Kasumi re-cloaked herself, Jack nearly fell out of the cab, and Miranda gave the driver five pounds extra than she was originally going to, but it seemed like the least she could do for him, especially considering that he just spent half an hour with the world’s best thief, the Psychotic Biotic, and the Cerberus Cheerleader. After she watched the driver peel away, Miranda staggered around and blinked in the hospital’s bright lights.

“You’d think they’d reduce their power a little bit, considering that London has power rations going on,” Kasumi mused from somewhere on Miranda’s left-hand side.

“And let five-hundred people die?” Jack said, scoffing.

“Fair point. Also, Miranda,” Kasumi said, briefly un-cloaking herself again. “I was able to steal some of Cerberus’ files before the Normandy got impounded. It’s all pretty much from the Lazarus Project.” Miranda blinked.

“What?” she said.

“I can transfer the files over to an omni-tool or a datapad. What one would you prefer?”

“Damn, Kasumi,” Jack said. “How did you even get those files?”

“A thief never reveals her secrets,” Kasumi said, typing on her omni-tool. “Or maybe that’s what magicians are supposed to do. Whatever. Anyway, Miranda, I’ve set the files to both your internet and extranet address.” Miranda pulled out her omni-tool. Sure enough, she received ten attachments. Tentatively, Miranda opened one. Her own voice came booming back out at her as a lung surgery played on the screen.

“As you can see here, we ended up abandoning the idea of using tissue from the right lung and instead just used synthetic pieces in order to repair the punctures in her left lung,” screen-Miranda said.

“What made you change your mind?” another voice said, and Miranda swallowed. She forgot that she gave every piece of information to the Illusive Man.

Another voice came on, and Miranda fought the urge to roll her eyes. Wilson. “With all due respect, sir, Operative Lawson realized that ou—my initial plan was foolish. We couldn’t take tissue from the right lung without causing severe damage to it.”

“I see,” the Illusive Man said. He paused to take a drag from his cigarette, and Miranda used the ensuing silence as a chance to turn her omni-tool off.

“Never thought I’d hear his voice again,” she mumbled.

“You want to know something funny?” Kasumi said. “In a lot of the Alliance documents, they abbreviated his name as ‘TIM’.”

“Jesus Christ,” Jack said. “And I thought Rodriguez’s name was pathetic. TIM? Yeah, that’s a name that’ll make people shit themselves on the battlefield.”

“They won’t accept it,” Miranda said. Jack and Kasumi glanced at her. “They’ll hear the Illusive Man’s voice and they’ll think I’m still with Cerberus. Let’s get back to the bar.” She turned around to call another taxi, but Jack yanked her back with a biotic pull. She pulled a little too hard, and Miranda landed right on her rear.

“Damn,” Jack said. “With a bubble-butt like that I’m surprised you didn’t end up bouncing.”

“What was that for?” Miranda said as Kasumi yanked her up.

“Yeah, it’s called ‘you’re not leaving this hospital until you go in there’, Queen-Bee,” Jack said. She crossed her arms and cocked her head to the side. “The Illusive Man was a major piece of shit, and if there’s a hell I hope that fucker’s rotting in it. But it’s like you said: you were the one who brought Shepard back, and you were the one who built the squad that took on the Collector base. You might piss me off most of the time, princess, but there’s two good things I can say about you: one, you’ve got nice tits, and two, you’re damn good at getting shit done when you put your mind to it.”

“That’s about the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Miranda said. She took a deep breath and gently shook Kasumi’s arm free. She stared up at the hospital again, her fists clenched. “All right then. Let’s do this.”

“And Jack and I will be there as moral support!” Kasumi said. “Jack’ll be the one you can look at for encouragement and me…well, it’ll be good to know my presence is felt.” Miranda gave a quick nod to the two of them before marching her way up to the hospital. Her legs still felt shaky, though she wasn’t quite sure if that was from nerves or from the wine. Luckily, she still managed to make it to the reception desk without turning her ankle in her boots. The receptionist—a young woman whose nametag read “Charlotte”—looked up at Miranda and Jack.

“Erm…” Charlotte said, her fingers hovering above the terminal as she took in their appearances. “Did you two just come from a fancy-dress party?” Miranda did suppose they looked a sight: while her white body-suit was more public-friendly than Jack’s crop top and tattoo combo, the two probably did look like they’d come from a costume contest instead of a bar.

“Good thing I cloaked myself, right?” Kasumi whispered in Miranda’s ear.

“No, actually,” Miranda said to both Charlotte and Kasumi. “We’re here to see Commander Shepard.” Charlotte bit her lip and looked at a spot on her desk.

“Commander Shepard isn’t here,” she said, fiddling with a sticky key on the terminal. “Was there anything else I could help you with?”

“Oh, bullshit,” Jack said, and the two women pressed their palms and leaned over Charlotte’s desk at the same time. “Shepard’s here. She might be in a different ward, but this is the only hospital in a three-mile radius that’s had patients that were hit by the Reaper beam.”

“Plus we worked with Shepard, so we’re kept in the loop as to what happened to her,” Miranda lied.

“Plus I had access to the Alliance information that stated Shepard’s current medical condition,” Kasumi said, shimmering in-and-out of her cloak as she said it. Charlotte glanced from Jack, to Miranda, to the space where Kasumi stood, and wilted.

“She’s on the third floor. She’s had a whole private room to herself,” Charlotte said. “All the people from the Alliance keep going in there. I think one of the admirals is in there right now. Can you please…go away now?”

“That wasn’t too difficult, was it?” Miranda said. She turned on her heel and walked away. “Come on Jack,” she called as she walked to the elevator. She took a quick glance around and saw Jack do a quick fake-out at Charlotte’s desk before running up to catch the elevator. Miranda clicked the button.

“We make quite a power-team, don’t we?” Miranda said as she watched the numbers on the elevator slowly reach their floor. Jack snorted.

“Don’t let it get to your head,” she said as the elevator doors opened.

“If we’re going to be a girl-squad, can we be like Charlie’s Angels?” Kasumi piped up as the three women stepped into the elevator. “No, wait, actually bring Shepard, Samara, and Tali into the equation and we’ll be like the Sailor Scouts!”

“Who?” Jack asked.

---

Shepard’s room wasn’t that hard to find. It was the only one surrounded completely by Alliance military. Miranda, Jack, and Kasumi turned a corner and, upon seeing the huge swarm of blue in the distance, all quickly turned back around.

“That many members of the Alliance there?” Miranda said. She glared at Jack. “I thought you said there weren’t many people around her room!” Jack shrugged.

“That receptionist did tell us that one of the admirals was in there right now,” Kasumi said. “They’re probably just there for protection.”

“There’s like ten guys there,” Jack pointed out. “They don’t need that many. And if you’re that worried, I’m sure a quick shockwave will send ‘em running.”

“We’re not here to give this hospital anymore patients.”

“If you’d like, I could go check,” Kasumi said. She shimmered and became invisible again. Her soft-padded shoes echoed down the hall as she ran down, before quickly running back. As soon as she saw Miranda and Jack again, she became visible. “What was that admiral that Shepard kept talking about? The one with the grey beard? Hatchet?”

“Hackett,” Miranda said. She sighed and buried her face in her palms. “Great. This is going as well as ever.”

“Might mean two things,” Jack said. “Either Shepard is awake and communicating, or she’s about to die and there’s like a funeral going on in there.”

Miranda pulled her head from her hands so quickly she banged her against the wall. “Kasumi, did you see Shepard’s condition?” she asked.

“No, I could only see the admiral,” Kasumi said. “But they wouldn’t bring ten bodyguards in unless something really big happened, right?”

“And this ward does require fewer medical staff. They moved her from the last time I was in to see the kids,” Jack said. “Before, she was in kind of like an emergency unit.”

“Great,” Miranda said, rubbing the back of her head. “So what am I supposed to do? Just walk up to them and act like I’m Shepard’s doctor or something?”

“Her nurse,” Kasumi said. “That would be a little bit more believable than a doctor.”

“Yeah, a nurse in a porno,” Jack said. “With that outfit, there’s no way they’re going to think she’s a nurse or a doctor.”

“I can steal one,” Kasumi offered.

“A nurse or a doctor? You’re good Kasumi, but no-one’s that good.”

“I meant an outfit. And we’ll all act like medical staff.”

“And then we’ll all get put in jail because we were caught impersonating medical staff,” Miranda said, sighing. She stood up properly. “No, the only way to face this is head on.”

“You’re not gonna puke, are you?” Jack asked from below.

“No,” Miranda said, though she wouldn’t be surprised if she did. “Wish me luck.” She stumbled around the corner again, and tried to muster up any sort of courage, drunken or otherwise. She couldn’t. What she got was a few angry soldiers staring at her as she wobbled towards them.

“I’m here to see Admiral Hackett,” Miranda said. Even before the sentence left her lips, she was aware of how stupid that sentence sounded, like a child on their first job interview.

“The admiral?” one of the soldiers said, and the one on her right hand side started to snicker. “Sure, if you pay me a million credits.”

“So the Alliance is accepting bribes now?” Miranda said, crossing her arms.

“How about two million and a night in bed with you?” said a soldier a few steps away from the first two soldiers. “Actually, forget the two million. How about just a night in—” Shepard’s door opened, and all the soldiers immediately zipped up their mouths and stood to attention. Admiral Hackett walked out.

“At ease,” he grumbled. He frowned at them. “Soldiers, you do know I can see you when you’re goofing off out here, right? Keep doing that, and I’ll tell your chief that he might want to put you all on latrine duty for a month.”

“Um, sir?” the first soldier said, raising her hand. Hackett scowled at her. Her friend pulled her hand down and the soldier started sweating. “Um…that woman over there said she was here to see you?” Hackett turned around and raised his eyebrows. Miranda clasped her hands behind her back, though despite her heels and her posture, she felt incredibly small.

“Yes, I am,” she said, her voice shaking. “I was the one who headed Project Lazarus—”

“—And brought Commander Shepard back after we all presumed her dead. Yes, I know who you are, Operative Lawson,” Hackett said.

“I haven’t been a part of Cerberus since the Normandy was taken by the Alliance,” Miranda said. Hackett had the ball in his court and this was her only chance to put up a decent fight. “The Illusive Man was dangerous and deserved everything that he got. I’m here as a friend to Commander Shepard—”

“Miss Lawson, I know you’re here as more than a friend to Commander Shepard,” Hackett said. He put his hand on his chin and gazed directly into her eyes. Miranda stared back. “You’re here because you want to get involved.”

“I am more than capable of doing so,” Miranda said. “I built Shepard back from nothing, and she saved the bloody galaxy.”

“I know,” Hackett said. “And you’re the only person who knows exactly what kind of tech we’re dealing with. You’re on the team.”

“I’m—what?” Miranda said.

“I don’t believe I stuttered there, Miss Lawson.”

“No, Admiral, I heard you the first time,” Miranda said, feeling her face grow hot. She felt a surge of bile in her throat and she quickly swallowed it down before she embarrassed herself even more. “I’m curious to know as to why you’re so…so willing. I have footage of the surgeries if you want solid proof of my work,” she said, pulling out her omni-tool. Hackett placed his hand on her arm and looked Miranda in her eyes again, much softer than before.

“We’ve already most of it, Miss Lawson. Some of it was left on your terminal on the Normandy, and we were able to pick up other bits and pieces from the raids on Cerberus bases,” Hackett said. “You’re the leader of this project now. Shepard’s been out for a month, and humanity wants to see its hero back. If we could raise the Normandy, we’d use them as a placeholder until Shepard was up and running, but they’ve been off the grid since the Crucible went off.

“So we need Shepard, and the staff here aren’t equipped to bring her back, especially when there’s so many wounded. There’s only one other person that’s performed the impossible, and that’s you. Get in there and wake her up. In exchange, I’ll make sure all of your activities with Cerberus are taken off your record. Troops, let’s head out.” With that, Hackett and his foot-soldiers marched away, leaving Miranda feeling like she did when they recovered Shepard’s body. From behind her, Kasumi and Jack walked up to watch Hackett and the Alliance soldiers leave.

“Well then,” Miranda finally said.

“God, if any of my kids turn out to be that shitty, I’m making them deal with Zaeed,” Jack said. “No, Garrus. Actually, fuck it: both.”

“I thought you met Hackett before this?”

“Yeah, with a group of like sixty other people to get pardoned. Not exactly a heart-to-heart conversation.”

“Did he say when you needed to start? Probably tomorrow, right?” Kasumi said. “Then let’s head back to the bar! You need to celebrate the fact you’ve got a new job now, Miranda!”

“Yeah,” Miranda said. “The most important job in the world. Now, does anyone know if there’s a bin or pizza place nearby? I’m probably going to throw up if we don’t get some of this wine absorbed.”

[terra-writes]

Before Sanctuary (Shakarian)

I would like to request one of your oc's( your choice) x any character of your choice with whatever you want to write for them! ❤  -Anonymous

AN: I love you in particular. (Also this was my first time writing for Mass Effect, so feel free to leave some constructive criticism!)

Word Count: 997

Summary: Shepard is dealing with the aftermath of Thessia not very well when Garrus gets worried and shows up to see if there was any way he could help ease the burden she feels with the Reaper war. Set in between Priority: Thessia and Priority: Horizon.

Warnings: Just some angst with some fluff sprinkled in at the end

              The cabin was dim as she lay there on the sheets of her bed, the only light being that of the room’s aquarium casting its blue hue across every surface. Shepard wasn’t sure how long she had been like this, yet she also made no move to find out. Her eyes were fixed on the celling, unmoving and barely blinking. The ever-growing weight of her mission was pressing down on her with every mission drop, with every report of the Reaper advancement.

              The faraway ping of her omni-tool -Garrus again, she knew he was starting to become increasingly worried for her- the faint thumping of some part within the Normandy’s structure that shouldn’t be there. All of that was background noise to her own thoughts. Briefly she remembered Hackett’s order for Shepard and her crew to go on shore leave. Perhaps after this next mission on Horizon she would.

              Shepard had never had any siblings growing up on whatever military station her parents were assigned on for their tour. Her parents had always said that making one child have to move around so often was hard enough, they didn’t need to subject another to that same kind of life as well. She always hated that excuse; it only made the loneliness she felt ever more prevalent every time she would have to leave whatever friends she had managed to make behind every few months.

              That’s probably why she had felt an initial draw to Liara. Not born of a romantic interest, but more of a surge of sibling protectiveness (though Liara had more than quite a few years on her). That sibling-like bond the two of them had cultivated was why Shepard felt her heart mourn for the loss of Thessia, of knowing that there was nothing she could do or say to make it hurt any less for Liara short of what they were already set out to do. She had been down to Liara’s cabin earlier, but she knew that the words she had to offer were petty in terms of comfort at best.  

              She wouldn’t show it in front of her crew- couldn’t show it, but with each mission the despair she felt at knowing that with every small victory, or failed mission, the Reapers were slaughtering entire populations, billions of voices at a time silenced, only grew. The galaxy would be a lot emptier if they were to survive this war, and Shepard didn’t quite know how she was going to deal with it.

              If her omni-tool sounded again, she didn’t hear it (or maybe, she just ignored it again) but the next thing that had registered in her mind was the sound of her cabin doors sliding open. She picked herself up off the bed, looking to the unmistakable Turian outline of her lover in the doorway. She said nothing as he stood there, as his eyes narrowed in that way they always did when he was checking her over for injuries after a mission.

              “You weren’t responding to my messages.” He finally broke the silence and stepped into the cabin, letting the doors close and lock behind him.

              She finally spoke. “Sorry, I was… distracted.”

              “I was worried.” The I still am worried hung unspoken in the air, though it needn’t be said. She didn’t say anything, and Garrus sighed, sitting next to her on the bed. He brought one of his hands up to turn her face up to look him in the eye. “Talk to me Shepard. Tell me what’s wrong.”

              She let out a humorless laugh. “What isn’t?”

              Garrus sighed. “Bad question, I know. But would you mind still answering it? Is this about Thessia? Because that wasn’t your fault Shepard, you know it was that bastard Kai Leng and The Illusive Man’s.”

              She sighed and shifted on the bed so she was more comfortable. “It’s that yes, but also this whole war in general. Just knowing that there’s so many more Thessia’s and Earth’s out there, and that we can’t help them all. And knowing that for some, even when we help, we can’t do anything to stop the Reapers.”

              Garrus shifted on the bed, made a move like he was going to put a hand on her shoulder but decided against it at the last minute. “I’m not good at the whole comfort thing, maybe it’s because I tend to prefer to see the worst, but unfortunately we were never going to be able to save everyone. Hell, I don’t even think we’re going to be saving most of the population that existed before the war started. But dwelling on what can’t be saved isn’t going help the people we can save.”

              “I’m starting to think everyone on this ship is allergic to a good old fashioned ‘it’ll be okay, Shepard.’”

              He snorted, but any hint of humor in his demeanor was gone in a moment. “I can’t make that promise Shepard, not even just to make you feel better. Because we both know it won’t be. Nothing will be ‘okay’ after this war is over. And it probably won’t be for a long time after. The most we can do is what we’re already doing: working towards obtaining the Catalyst and kicking as many Reaper asses as we can along the way.”

              “You’re right, you do kind of suck at the comfort thing.”

              This time he did allow himself to laugh. “You’re right, but I do know one thing: even though things are going to get worse before they’ll get better, they will get better. And when you and I come out on the other side of this war you and I will retire somewhere nice and quiet. Just the two of us and whatever a ‘cat’ is that you keep mentioning.”

              Shepard felt a small smile tug at the corner of her lips despite herself as she pulled him close so that their foreheads were resting against each other. “I think that sounds nice.”

[forlornmelody]

Traitor, Martyr, Spy Chapter 7: Home Sweet Home

Rating: Explicit (some chapters have smut)

Ship: Miranda Lawson x Femshep

AO3 Link: Here

Summary: The horror of Sanctuary behind them, Miranda’s ready to enjoy some peace and quiet with Artemis Shepard on her shore leave. But nothing is so simple, is it? 

-*-

“You alright?” Miranda knows the answer before Artemis opens her mouth, but she needs to hear her talk about it. 

Artemis herself paces back and forth out of the field of view. The dark, nondescript background doesn’t say much about where she’s at, but the spaciousness of it suggests her spectre office. Ah. That’s it. “Hackett grounded me.”

Miranda raises an eyebrow. “Are you in trouble?”

“No,” Artemis spits. “But they ordered the Normandy into dry dock, and Joker won’t fly his baby out until she gets serviced.”

“You want to go after Kai Leng.”

Screeching to a halt, Artemis gapes at her. “Of course, I do. You know what he’s capable of. And we finally have his location.” She pulls at her hair. “And I can’t do anything about it.”

How badly Miranda emphasizes with her. She wouldn’t have waited to go after her sister. Miranda didn’t wait to go after her sister. “You have the location of Cerberus Headquarters.” But that’s not what Shepard needs to hear. “The Illusive Man isn’t like the Shadowbroker. He doesn’t move around.”

Artemis’s lips curl ever so slightly, but she says nothing. Instead she sighs heavily. “All that to say. If you have time,” she scratches the back of her head, glancing away from the camera. “I got some too.”

Miranda leans forward, smirking. “Are you asking me out?”

Her lover furrows her brow. “Have we ever gone on an actual date?

Shit. She’s right. 

-----

“Fix me something while you’re back there, would you?”

“Drinking in is not the same as going out, Miri.” Artemis ducks behind the bar anyway, rummaging around.

“Forgive me for wanting a moment with you. Alone.” Maybe she said that last part too strongly, for Shepard’s head pops around the bar, staring at her.

Their eyes meet, and Artemis scoots back into hiding. “I missed you too, Miri. Cocktails coming right up.”

“You don’t drink.”

“One mocktail and one cocktail coming right up.”

Miranda laughs out loud. “It sounds so filthy when you say it like that.”

“Thought you liked to get dirty.” She pops up, with two tumblers in hand. 

“Only when you’re involved.”

Popping some bottles and cans on the counter, Artemis snickers. “Aww, I’m touched.” She stands up, mixing the drinks with surprising finesse. How many cocktails did she make and drink before she went sober? “So, what brings you over?”

“You invited me.”

“Oh! Right. You’re the one who called.”

Miranda clears her throat. “I heard some strange things in the news. And then you weren’t responding to coms for nearly a day. Something about a clone?”

Part of Artemis’s drink spills on the counter as she jolts. “That was on the news?”

“They had a field day. You alright?”

“Did you know about it?”

“I didn’t know what to make of the reports. You sounded like you had lost your mind.”

Miranda barely hears Artemis when she answers. “I mean about the clone.” Her eyes watch her closely as she continues. “She was a Cerberus project, wasn’t she?”

“It--she was a backup plan. In case I failed to bring you back.” Miranda rolls her eyes. “Which I knew wasn’t going to happen.”

Artemis stares at her glass. “But she was a whole person. And Cerberus just made her out of thin air.”

“We made her from your tissue. We’re not gods. Despite what the Illusive Man thinks.”

“Mm.” Artemis takes her drink with her, leaning against the floor to ceiling windows.

Miranda follows, sipping her own Old Fashioned. And then she sees the view. “Aww. They shut down my favorite sushi place.” They talk about Brooks, the exploding fish tank--sipping their drinks as the traffic flies by. 

“How do I know you’re not a clone?”

Artemis smirks slowly, pulling her into a kiss full of heated promises. Who knows when they’ll see each other again? This whole night feels like a fever dream. Any moment they could wake up alone. Miranda means to make the most of it.

“A compelling argument.” Miranda matches her expression, eyeing her up and down. “But I’m not completely convinced.”

“Are we…?” Artemis sputters, but her eyes darken with want. 

“Are we what, Artemis?”

She swallows and starts to look away as Miranda draws her attention back with her finger. “Is this...a scene?” A gulp. “A roleplaying scene?”

“Do you want a roleplaying scene?”

“Heh.” Artemis’s gaze falls on her lips, and then rises to her eyes. “Sounds fun. Are you gonna…?” She makes a face. “Gonna dominate me? Again?” 

Miranda cups her cheek. “Do you want me to dominate you?”

Artemis’s cheeks color ever so slightly, and she nods. “Yes,” she says thickly. 

“Dim the lights.” Miranda releases Artemis, trailing a hand down her chest. “In fact. Turn them off.”

“You catch that, Glyph?”

A floating ball of light floats toward them. “Right away, Commander.”

Miranda makes a face. “How long has it been watching us?”

Glyph turns its ocular lens toward her. “Not long, Operative Lawson. The Commander activated privacy mode before you walked in.”

“So, you’ll erase any information recorded for the duration of this visit?”

“Yes, Miss Lawson.”

“Good. Go back to sleep.” The VI dissipates in pixels of energy. In the now dimmed light, Miranda can only see her lover through the pink haze of the Silversun Strip. And not a soul can see them. Miranda leans her back against the glass, turning her gaze towards Artemis. “Now why don’t you continue with your reasoning.”

“Always the skeptic.” Artemis’s olive skin flares like hot coals in the filtered light. She starts at Miranda’s mouth, taking her time tasting her, before trailing her lips down her chin to where it meets her neck. Mm--she remembers that spot. Oh--and that other one where her neck met her shoulder. Why had Miranda avoided relationships for so long? 

Miranda’s hand winds into her hair, pulling pin after pin out as Artemis makes her way down to her chest. Her hair finally comes free as her lips close around Miranda’s nipple. “Mm. Artemis.” Two eyes spark with mirth as she glances back up at her. Artemis lingers there, freeing her other breast so she can cup it with her hand. Neither satisfies her lover for long, and Miranda licks her lips as she watches her trail her kisses down to her belly button. She tries to stay in character, but Artemis doesn’t make it easy, her silver tongue outlining her argument across the carved lines of her abdomen, touching her nose just above where Miranda yearns for her to touch. 

“Mm.” Miranda then swears under her breath, and Artemis grins against her, licking her lips before giving one wet kiss against her thigh. 

“Still skeptical, love?” Artemis’s eyes glow with mirth. 

“Mmhm.” She knows words. Lots of words. However, the only one coming to mind in this moment is fuck. But Miranda wants to draw this out. Tease Artemis while she teases her. But she’s making it so bloody difficult. 

Artemis makes a point of sighing dramatically, letting her warm breath ghost between her thighs. “Fine, fine.” And she kisses her pussy again. 

Bugger it all--why don’t these windows have grills? Or anything Miranda could hold onto? Her legs shake, and Miranda’s half-convinced they’ll pool into a puddle on the floor if Artemis isn’t more careful. “Oh god.”

“Shh. I got you.” Miranda swears to any deity who might possibly exist, Artemis bloody well holds her up with one arm, flexed and pressed against her stomach. If Miranda Lawson wasn’t a sodden mess before, she certainly is now. Bloody show off. Artemis uses her free hand to slip a finger or two inside her, and Miranda practically screams. Hopefully this apartment is more soundproof than the SR2’s cabin. 

Artemis finally allows her to sink to the floor, and they cuddle together against the glass. “Convinced now?” She laughs, brushing the sweaty strands from Miranda’s face. 

“Never doubted you.” Miranda takes her chin with one finger, pulling her into a breathless kiss. She can still taste herself on Artemis’s lips, and it stirs her loins anew. “Mm.”

“Even when we were enemies?” Artemis asks when she pulls back for air. 

“Especially not then. I only doubted you’d keep from turning us in.”

“I would have if I could have, but I’m glad I didn’t.” Artemis pulls her into another kiss, and Miranda can taste her hunger. She’s hungry too, but she’s not going to take her on the living room floor--not in this lavish apartment. 

But Artemis is ravenous, with the pull of Jupiter in her touch. “Mm,” Miranda manages as her lover nibbles on her ear. “Artemis….”

“Yeah?” Artemis brushes her fingers against the inside of Miranda’s thigh, and they both shiver. 

Another moan slips out of Miranda’s mouth as she manages to tear her hands away. “Not here,” she says with her voice full of gravel.

Artemis pouts. “Fine, fine.” She rises from the floor as slow as a mountain, but she brings Miranda with her. “Where?”

“Have you even used any of your beds here?”

“They’re not my beds.” Artemis sobers, staring off into the kitchen. “They’re Anderson’s.” Perhaps sex against the living room windows wasn’t entirely Miranda’s idea after all. 

He’s not coming back, Artemis, Miranda wants to say. She’s seen the reports of Earth. Concentration camps, indoctrinated governments, wholesale destruction of age-old cities--no one fighting back will live long, especially not long enough to return to a Citadel apartment. “They’re beautiful beds. He wouldn’t want them gathering dust.” 

“A cleaning drone comes in once a week, but I get what you mean.” Artemis sighs, trailing her fingers along the piano keys, playing a scale without rhythm or direction. 

Miranda joins her, wearing nothing but her bra, and she decides to put it to use--letting the lace brush up against her lover’s back. Her nose grazes the ridge of one of her ears. “Guest bed?” Baby steps. 

Artemis closes her eyes, taking one breath and letting it out as she nods. “Alright.”

Taking her hand, Miranda leads her to the bed next to the shower.

-------

“How do you feel about bondage?” Miranda leans over Artemis, clasping each of her hands in her own. She straddles her, too, but only enough to let their bodies heat the air between them. 

Artemis grimaces. “I’m not really a fan.”

Miranda suspects Artemis’s feelings go deeper than distaste, but she doesn’t press the issue. She’d much rather press other buttons. “Sensory deprivation?” Her breath ghosts over Artemis’s mouth, and her lover’s lips part in anticipation. 

“Like a blindfold?” Artemis gazes up at her so softly and openly--not a view most people see. Perhaps it’s something she only shares with Miranda. Her heart aches at the thought--along with her loins.

“That’s one form, yes.” She turns her head, whispering into Artemis’s ear. “Would you like to try a blindfold?”

“Yeah.” Artemis swallows, but she doesn’t tense, not even when Miranda leaves the bed to procure a silk scarf. She saw some very nice silk ties but decided against it. Her lover would not appreciate seeing any of Anderson’s belongings in bed. 

“Close your eyes.” Miranda straddles her, tying the scarf around her head, but not too tightly. “How’s that feel?” she whispers into her ears. 

Artemis shifts beneath Miranda, her head turning each way as Miranda moves her hands up and down the sheets on either side. “Weird. But good. I think.” Goosebumps crest across her skin, and Miranda draws her biotics across them, from Artemis’s collarbone down to her hips, never quite reaching between her legs. “Mm,” her lover says, squirming a little. “Tickles.”

“In a good way?” Miranda whispers into her ear, letting her breath ghost across her skin. 

“Y-yeah.” Artemis parts her legs, but Miranda doesn’t take the bait, not yet. She does travel down her body, breathing in the scent of her arousal.

“So wet already, and I haven’t even touched you.” 

“Cheater,” Artemis mumbles. 

Miranda sits up, and Artemis reaches for her. “Do you want me to stop?”

“No.”

“Then hold still.” Miranda soothes her hands, drawing them above her head, licking her lips at the way it stretches her abdomen. Unable to help herself, she traces her tongue across those muscles, reveling in the way Artemis twitches and moans. “You’re so beautiful,” she whispers, letting her fingers and wisps of her biotics travel down her thighs. 

“Miri.” Artemis gasps, her hips lifting Miranda with her. 

“So strong. And stubborn.” Miri pushes her back down, pushing her thighs farther apart. Mm. This angle won’t do for how long she’s going to be down here, so she shoves a pillow beneath Artemis’s firm ass, squeezing it for good measure before she lets her settle down. Blowing a puff of air against her inner thigh, Miranda pulls back. 

Artemis groans, but she holds still, mostly. 

“Patience,” Miranda murmurs, kissing the inside of her ankle, then her calf. Artemis’s pulse quickens as her mouth nears her core, and the heat between them rises. She pauses at her lover’s knee, sending biotic vibrations up her skin ahead of her mouth. By the time her lips meet the spot between her legs, Artemis’s breath has gone ragged, and her underwear is soaked. Pulling it out of the way, Miranda kisses her again, harder deeper, tracing her entrance with blue sparked fingers. 

“Oh, fuck, Miri,” Artemis whimpers and begs. “I can’t.” One of her hands twists inside Miranda’s hair, and she looks up to see the other gripping the headboard for dear life. 

“Yes, you can,” Miranda murmurs against her clit, kissing and sucking as her lover writhes beneath her. “Are you close, Ari?” She can already tell by the words slipping out of her mouth, but Miranda wants to hear her say it.

“Miri,” Ari’s fingers dig into her scalp, “yes,” she manages as her hips thrust into her touch. “So close.”

Miri lies beside her so she can watch her face, and she whispers against her ear. “Then come for me, Ari.” She twists her fingers, pulling on Ari’s clit with her biotics, and her lover’s whole-body arches toward the ceiling. When the orgasm fades, Miri dims the lights, and undoes the blindfold softy, bringing her back slowly. 

“Damn,” she gasps softly, staring across the room as her breathing slows. 

“That good, was it?”

Artemis swallows several times, looking over at her finally, her skin flushed. “I had no idea.” Her fingers touch Miranda’s face, before drawing her into a kiss, grinning as she tastes herself on her lips. “What you were capable of.”

“Few do.”

-------

Artemis stares at the displays of cabinetry, saying nothing. It’s not until Miranda taps her shoulder that she realizes her girlfriend is glaring at the varnish. 

“Ari?” Miranda lays a hand on her shoulder. 

Shaking her off, Artemis pulls back. “I can’t do this.” She heads toward the kitchen.

“Artemis, wait.” 

“Miranda. This isn’t negotiable. Just leave it alone.” Artemis plops down on the kitchen island, holding a glass full of sparkling water. Her eyes distantly watch the bubbles pop.

Sighing, Miranda stops in her tracks, eyeing the stack of datapads next to the Normandy display. So much for making the apartment their own. It shouldn’t bother her so much. She’s never been much for interior decorating. But now Miranda has someone to decorate with, and it makes all the difference. Can’t Artemis see that? If Miranda helped jumpstart the process, maybe she would? Leaning over the table, Miranda reaches for an empty box, and the nearby rustle makes her heart sink.

The pile of datapads scatter off the desk, and Admiral David Anderson’s voice echoes throughout the apartment at full volume. 

“.... Few people know what Shepard's been through.” 

Artemis freezes, her eyes wide.  

“I'd like to think I come pretty close. And I worry sometimes she forgets there's a whole bunch of people who lose sleep over her getting back home. Maybe it doesn't need to be said. Maybe--”

“Turn it off.” 

“It fell on the floor.” Miranda says lamely.

Artemis slams her glass down, swerving off the counter and out of the kitchen. She kneels on the floor as all the datapads start playing Anderson’s voice all at once. Her arms shake as she tries to silence them one by one, but the stack keeps sliding out of her hands. Throwing one across the room, Artemis covers her ears, and her breath shakes. “Please turn it off.”

“Later.” Miranda touches her gently. “Let’s get you upstairs, away from the noise.”

Artemis jumps slightly, but she doesn’t pull away. “But--”

“Shh.” Miranda wraps an arm around her shoulders, guiding her to the room they slept in earlier--away from the master bedroom. She helps Artemis out of her clothes, and under the covers, jacking up the climate control so they can lie under all the blankets. “They’ll still be there in an hour.”

Her lover says nothing, only resting her head against Miranda’s chest. Tears drop one by one on her skin, but Miranda doesn’t say a word, just runs her fingers through Artemis’s hair until her breathing slows and her body stills. She’s almost asleep when Artemis finally breaks her silence.

“He was the one that found me after the Raids.”

Miranda frowns. “On Mindoir.”

“Yeah.” She burrows her head against Miranda’s collarbone. “He’s not coming back, is he.”

“There’s always a chance.”

“He’s on Earth, Miri. In the thick of it.” A sob escapes her mouth and her body shakes with the impact. “There’s no chance.”

Squeezing her tight, Miranda answers. “We never hand a chance, but we’re still here, aren’t we?”

Ari breathes in and out, mulling it over, or maybe remembering how she did everything short of mutiny on the SR2 when they first met. “Y-yeah,” she says thickly.

Miri takes a breath and lets it out in a sigh. “And you know what? If Anderson hates the new cabinet color, we can always change it back.”

Artemis snorts. “Fine.” Not that Miranda disagrees about Anderson. But if Commander Artemis Shepard loses faith, so does everyone fighting behind her, and Miranda’s fought so hard to get where she is now. She can deal with the bloody consequences of her lie later. 

----

“You sure you want to go out?” Artemis lingers by the counter, leaning over it and bracing herself on her elbows. 

“Ari. I did not buy this dress just to stay home.” They had finally finished refurnishing the place and making it their own, and it was nice, but good God, Miranda needed to see something besides that backsplash behind the waterfall before she changed her mind about the color again.  

“To be fair--the last time I went out all fancy I destroyed your favorite sushi place, and someone died.”

“Wasn’t Elijah Kahn dirty?” Miranda also braces her elbows on the counter, her face inches away from Artemis’s.

Artemis doesn’t even bother to hide looking down at the windows in the front of her dress. Her next words come out warm and husky. “He’s still dead.”

Miranda runs her fingers down her lover’s forearm. “Like the dress? If you want to keep seeing me in it, you better take me out somewhere nice.”

Grinning roguishly, Artemis whispers. “Not like you’re going to be in that dress for long.”

“I didn’t even bring anything else to wear!” Miranda groans as Artemis starts pulling frying pans out of the cupboards. An apron goes flying towards her face. 

“Wear that.”

Miranda holds out the apron in front of her like it’s been soaked in varren pee. “I don’t cook.”

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun!” Artemis decides to help her with it, sliding it over her neck and tying it behind her back. She steps back, admiring her handiwork. “Damn. You look good in that.”

“Do you even know how to cook?”

“I know a few things.” Artemis turns away, pulling out pans and butter and various ingredients Miranda did not even realize Anderson had stocked in this kitchen. No. It’s been too long. Miranda’s girlfriend must have done it herself. When did she have time for grocery shopping? She tosses a dash of salt into the water to make it boil faster and gets to work opening a box of dry pasta. 

“Could we at least go out for drinks after?”

Artemis stares at her, hearing the sharpness in her tone. “Miri?”

Miranda rubs her face, leaning heavily against the counter. “Sue me if I want to go out on a normal date with my girlfriend.” She’s probably making too big a deal of this, and Ari’s sure to notice. Why did she have to make such a scene?

Her lover says nothing, turning off the stove and settling next to her, squeezing her hand. “Did you have a place in mind?” She’s biting her lip, studying Miranda closely, her voice soft and quiet. Miranda almost has to lean closer to hear it. 

“I hear the bar at the Silversun Casino has excellent drinks.”

“Do they have soda?” Ari traces the seams of Miranda’s dress with her finger.

“If they don’t I’m burning the place down.”

Artemis has to muffle her laughter into Miranda’s shoulder after that.

-------

Long after James Vega has made eggs, and Kaidan Alenko has made coffee, and Artemis and Wrex have fished Grunt out of the shower, and everyone has filed out of the apartment to pack their bags, Miranda lingers. She borrows the downstairs shower (it’s seemingly seen the least amount of action during that raging party), cleaning up with what she hopes is Ari’s shampoo. Miranda wouldn’t feel quite right using Kahlee Sanders’s stuff with everything going on. 

With a pang, Miranda realizes she forgot to check on Ari after the party got going. She seemed...alright? Was she just faking it for her guests? Miranda hurries, probably missing some of the conditioner at the end, but it can’t be helped. Some things are more important than having perfect hair. 

Wrapping a towel around her, Miranda finds Ari sitting by the window, a stack of datapads next to her, turned off. 

“Want to talk about it?” Miranda sits next to her, handing her the mug of coffee that she had originally prepared for herself. 

Artemis says it so quietly Miranda almost doesn’t hear her. “I listened to them. All of them.”

“Oh,” Miranda says softly. “Are you alright?”

Her lover’s face brightens like the sun. “Better.” She reaches over, hand still warm from holding the mug. “Whatever happens. I’m ready.”

“Me too.” Miranda kisses her, ignoring the nagging feeling. Surely this shore leave is just the dream. Only a matter of time before the nightmare follows. 

[seigephoenix]

Aftermath

Despite the title, this has some fluff content.  FShep x Zaeed.  Non-canon backstory Shep.

Marlowe clenched her jaw stubbornly as she felt the pain shooting through her body.  It was six months after the end of the Reaper War, and the galaxy was putting itself back together.  Marlowe Shepard was spending the time trying to get herself back together.  She knew things would be hard, but she had the idle thought that Hell Week was a cakewalk compared to this.  She remembered the sense of completion after shooting the panel and giving the Star Brat the figurative finger.  It had been an exhilaration to see the fury on the AI’s holographic face as she was knocked back by the explosions.  Her last thoughts were her own, the constant buzzing of whispers had been gone.  She’d had a sneaky suspicion that the Reapers had been slowly trying to indoctrinate her.  The nightmares, the voices that whisper to her, had become clear in the moments when The Illusive Man had taken control over her body.  The Reapers had put their hopes into her as well, ever since that first lone fight against Saren. No, since she’d spoken to them on Virmire.

Sweat beaded on her skin as she gripped the rails beside her in a death grip.  The voices weren’t of her friends and loved ones, they were the Reapers.  The Reapers whispering her worst doubts and fears to her, every decision she ever made had been thrown in her face.  When that became clear as The Illusive Man used the Reapers to take control of her implants, her stubborn side came out in full rage.  She turned on him through sheer will and shot him dead.  There could have been a chance to redeem him, but then she remembered the files on Akuze.  The faces of her lost teammates, the ones eaten by the maws, flashed through her mind.  It had been relatively easy to pull the trigger, looking back.  For her team that had been killed due to his organization’s experiments, it seemed fitting she was the one that had taken the shot.

Marlowe willed herself to take that first step.  That first step seemed so huge and daunting.  Her left leg had been lost in the damage from her fall in the Crucible.  Her left arm below the elbow as well, but the prosthetic for that was adapting better than her leg.  It reacted to her nerves much easier than her leg and Marlowe was getting much better at using it.  She still got the pain that she was told was normal.  Normal her ass, it still hurt like a bitch.  She’d take that pain and make it hers, it reminded her the Reapers had not won.  They, humanity and all the other races that banded together, had won.  The galaxy no longer had a looming death clock anymore.

“Damn it Shepard.  You were supposed to wait for a nurse to get back.”  Marlowe laughed as she heard the petulant tone in his voice.  Hearing a friendly voice lifted her spirits, especially since he’d been a constant pain in her ass.

“Still playing my nursemaid Vega?”  She leaned against the railing, propping her chin on her hand as she watched the big Marine enter the room.  The first steps being forgotten temporarily as Vega shuffled around with coffee and breakfast.  Her stomach growled as the tantalizing smells reached her.  He snorted.

“Hardly but I don’t want to get my ass kicked by your merc boyfriend because you got hurt on my watch.”  At the mention of Zaeed, Marlowe felt her heart flutter.  He’d been there when she woke up.  You can’t be the one girlfriend to break the streak of trying to kill me.  Wake up damn it!  Marlowe told him to quit yelling or she really would try to kill him.  She remembered his next words with clarity, it still sent a trill of heat through her.  That’s my sweetheart.  Now let’s get you up.  She’d been making progress every day for the past six months to get to where she was.  Her spine had been fractured and had to heal before she could try putting weight on it.  One doctor had informed her she would never walk again, he’d been thrown out of her room by everyone in it.  Every single crew member and friend she had made all told that doctor where to shove his opinion.  Marlowe herself threatened to kick his ass if he didn’t get out of her room.

Miranda had informed her that she had redone her implants but without any Cerberus tech this time.  Miranda privately whispered that Zaeed had been particularly adamant that she not use Cerberus tech.  Vega was her physical therapy buddy since he had the uncanny ability to tap into that stubborn streak she had.  Zaeed stayed with her when he wasn’t needed for reconstruction.  Marlowe focused her eyes on Vega and they narrowed at the nervous shifting of his eyes.  “What are you up to James Vega?”  He pointed at himself in a Who me?  Marlowe glared at him and arched one eyebrow.

“Spill it Vega.  Or I’ll tell that pretty nurse that you flex in front of the mirror when you think no one is looking.”  He grumbled and shifted his weight around.  It looked as if he was weighing the options and consequences in his head.  His arms crossed as he shook his head.  

“No can do Lola.  Sworn to secrecy.”

“So it is something.”  Marlowe tapped her finger against her lips as her mind whirled with possibilities.  “Tell me Vega.”  She demanded as her body straightened and wobbled a bit as her body tried to regain its balance.

“If you can make it over to me on your own maybe I will.”  Vega teased and Marlowe sucked in a breath to steel herself against the excruciating effort.  She moved slowly and could feel Vega’s eyes on her.  Her eyes stayed on her legs, making sure to put one in front of the other.  Her foot moved and then she concentrated on the prosthetic.  The synthetic foot twitched and finally moved a step.  Her eyes shot up to Vega and he looked amazed.

“Hold up on that just yet Lola.  The nurse is on her way.  Please?”  There was a note in his voice that had her freeze.  She nodded and leaned against the railing.  It had been about a week since Zaeed had been there, and she missed him.  Missed hearing him tell the nurses that if they wanted him out of her hospital bed, they’d have to drag him out.  Missed hearing the stories he told her that lulled her to sleep.  She especially missed him being there when the nightmares struck in the night, his comforting arms sliding around her warm and comforting.  

“Come on Vega.  You know I hate surprises.”  Shepard whined as Vega shook his head.  The door opened and she turned with an exasperated huff.  “About time.”  She froze as she recognized the man standing in the doorway.  Tall, always so tall, broad shouldered, and the salt and pepper hair.  It had once been as deep red as her own.  His eyes that she remembered shining with mischief as he and she got up to shenanigans when she was a child had more lines around them.  “Dad?”  

“Marlowe.  You were supposed to wait for a nurse, but patience has never been your strongest trait.”  Her father, Admiral Kenneth Shepard, strode over to her as she straightened.  “Has it baby girl?”  Marlowe laughed at the nickname.  He had once told her she would be sixty and he’d still call her his baby girl.  

“How?  I thought you and Mom.”  Marlowe paused at the flash of pain in her dad’s face.  “Mom isn’t here is she?”  Her father shook his head and held out his arm for her.  Marlowe reached out and grabbed his forearm with her right hand.  “I’m glad you made it Dad.”  

“And I’m glad you did.  I heard about the disaster that the ground assault was.  We heard there were no survivors and then, then, we all heard your voice.  Hackett almost had a coronary when you asked what you needed to do.”  Vega watched as Marlowe took a step as her Dad spoke.  He kept his lips sealed as the two caught up.  “I almost had a coronary when your name came across the lines.  ‘Shepard!  We have Shepard!’  I can’t tell you how much that meant.”  Kenneth grinned as they made it to the end of the railing.  Marlowe jolted as the railing slipped from her fingers and she looked down to see they’d gone beyond it.

“What?”  Kenneth chuckled and she glanced up at her father.

“You always did overthink things dear girl.  Occupy your mind with something else and you’d manage to overcome anything.”  Vega burst out laughing and the elder Shepard looked at the Marine, who clapped a hand over his mouth.  “Now.  Let’s go.  There is someone else who wants to see you.”

Marlowe glanced out the door and saw Zaeed standing there.  Looking distinctly uncomfortable in his casual clothes.  Jeans and a dark shirt.  She let go of her father’s arm and walked over to him.  Worry flashed in his eyes as she stopped in front of him.  “So you found my Dad?”

“Vega opened his bloody mouth didn’t he?”

“I am being falsely accused!”  Came the reply from the therapy room.  Kenneth chuckled at the protest.

“You were gone a week.  I figured something was up,” Marlowe explained.  “Don’t blame Vega.  I even threatened him and he kept his mouth shut.”

“I figured he’d crumple.  Shocking,” Zaeed grumbled as Marlowe put her hand on his arm to keep her balance.  He instinctively covered her hand with his.  Marlowe grinned at him.

“You’re just a big softie.  Admit it.”  Marlowe laughed at the disgruntled expression on his face.  

Kenneth watched his daughter with the grizzled mercenary.  He wouldn’t have picked Zaeed Massani out for her, but he saw the light in her eyes.  Those eyes so much like her mother’s shined with the same emotion he would see in Hannah’s eyes.  His daughter lit up when that man came into the room.  If Zaeed made her happy, then he’d let her be.  All he wanted was for her to be happy.

“How would you feel if I told you that we got permission for you to leave?”

“Leave?  Leave the hospital?”  Zaeed nodded.  “When!?  I don’t care how you got the cage unlocked.”  Marlowe wrapped her arms around Zaeed, pressing her cheek against his chest.  

“Now.  I even got your apartment finished.”

“Wait.  That big one that Anderson left me?”  Zaeed nodded as she tilted her face up to him.  “How?  I didn’t think Zakera Ward was a priority?”

Vega laughed and spoke up from the doorway.  “It wasn’t.  Until your boyfriend rounded up the crew and between us we had more than enough leverage to get the complex fixed.”  Vega grinned as Zaeed shot him a glare over Marlowe’s head.

“And now he opens his bloody mouth.  Arsehole.”  Vega held up his hands at Zaeed’s grumbling insults.  Marlowe smiled and leaned back.

“Let’s go home.”

“Anything for you sweetheart.”  Vega made a face and Kenneth coughed to cover up a laugh.  “You’re not invited.”  Zaeed pointedly told Vega.

“No problems here.”  Vega backed away and Kenneth told Marlowe he would visit the next day.  Zaeed looked down at Marlowe after the others left.

“Are you going to tell them?”  Marlowe’s eyes danced with mischief as he shook his head.  No one knew but Marlowe suspected they all had a feeling something was up.  The glint of silver on her dogtag chain drew his attention.  The simple band wasn’t anything fancy, she only wanted simple.  Fancy wasn’t their style.  “I suppose we should let Tali know it’s okay to tell since she was our witness and all.”  Marlowe tilted her face up and he leaned down to press his lips against hers.  She sighed and fisted her hands in his shirt as he lifted his head.  

“Then take me home.  So we can see if they fixed the hot tub?”  Her grin had him chuckling.  He didn’t want to spoil everything.  It had been a long six months, and he was sure she’d forgive him for what he had planned.  Hopefully.  It would take some persuading but he was good with his hands.

[poweredbycoffeeandwine]

If you have any spots left, I'd love love love to see Tavrien and Kaidan and the secret Santa prompt. :)

Here is the aforementioned angst @lechatrouge673! This one is for you, love! Hope you enjoy it. Sorry it got away from me.

Have some Tavrien x Kaidan feels, set in my “I Don’t Mean To” verse. This takes place during the events of ME2 after Horizon. Is spoilery if you haven’t played The Shadow Broker DLC.

Shepard’s Not-So Secret Santa

Everything was different, but should have been the same. It didn’t matter how evidence pointed to the contrary. Two years. She had lost two years…and yet, Tavrien Shepard felt as though no time had passed at all. Despite the obvious missing scars, and advanced cybernetics infused throughout her body, she felt the same. She might be faster and stronger, but she was confused as hell. Her battle prowess, experience and uncanny ability to strategize in any given situation hadn’t failed her; causing those around her to believe that she was the same old Commander Shepard, maybe a medical miracle, but the same nonetheless.

The conversations that swirled around her indicated just how much she had missed, and she fought to remain impassive as her insides screamed at having no idea what was being alluded to. When Cerberus first revived her, she spent most of the night cycle researching important details in a gap the past held. Alternatively, she attempted to hack her way past EDI’s firewall to contact anyone off ship, Anderson, Hackett, but most of all Kaidan. All to no avail. Then she was sent to Horizon and what hopes she held for normalcy crumbled to dust in her outstretched hands.

The man she trusted, the one person who promised her the world, looked at her with such scorn and contempt. Alenko had actually accused her of betraying the Alliance. Him! As if she would ever have faked her own death to join an organization hell-bent only on advancement of themselves. Not the human race, as they claimed, but the sole person in charge of their disturbed cells. Sick and twisted experiments scattered across the galaxy. The universe had an odd sense of humor. She was brought back from the dead to work with the rabid dogs she had sworn to put down.

She was frazzled, utterly exhausted, and a touch paranoid; she had very few friends to confide in. True friends. Not these Cerberus loyalists attempting to gain her confidence. More of The Illusive Man’s lackeys. Tali remained standoffish, unable to reconcile her friend with the person she saw before her. She was starting to come around, but Shepard didn’t know if it would be the same as it was before. Joker still flew the ship, and she knew where his loyalties lay, but he never left his chair, not trusting the AI so integral to the Normandy SR-2. She felt defeated knowing that all their conversations were likely recorded, and played back for The Illusive Tit.

“Shepard,” EDI’s smooth robotic voice interrupted her thoughts.

“Yes, EDI, what is it?”

“I have an important message from Liara T’Soni.”

“And?” she barked at the AI. She was still angry at her once friend. After discovering what part the new Shadow Broker played in Cerberus acquiring her remains, she was finding it hard to trust her. Everything really was different.

“She requests your presence on her base.”

“Tell Joker to set a course for Hagalaz. Inform me when we are close.”

“Commander Shepard, I feel I should remind you, The Illusive Man is expecting you to collect the Reaper IFF. We are, in fact, closer to our initial destination that Hagalaz.”

“EDI, I honestly don’t care. Set a new course.”

“I hear you loud and clear, Commander,” Joker replied, hanging up the line, but not before she heard the continued argument between her pilot and the machine he despised so much.

Tavrien made her way to the desk to check her email. Hoping against hope that Kaidan had contacted her. She had answered his email. The one she left in her inbox and read so often she knew it by heart. It didn’t stop her from feeling foolish when she remembered everything she said and did on Horizon. The way she flung herself into his arms, as if he could set to rights all the wrongs that had happened with one hug. Like he could make all that she had gone through a bad dream. She finally realized she would never wake from this nightmare. At least she found herself outnumbered and about to embark on a suicide mission. Maybe this time it would take.

She stared at his photograph. She didn’t know the person responsible for it being in her personal quarters, and she would likely never thank them, but it was a comfort in times like these. She had believed in karma, once. Had thought that if she lived life respectfully, treaded carefully, treated others with tact, she would have a relatively gratifying life. Instead she was the butt of every cosmic joke. She barely lived through the attack on Elysium, she survived the Battle of the Citadel, but hearing that Kaidan had moved on killed her. Sure she was walking, talking, breathing, fighting the good fight, but she was still a husk.

She sighed, rubbing circles into her temples, and glanced at her console. She really should attempt to rest before she heard Liara’s news. No doubt it would be a difficult meeting, no matter the reason for the request to see her, it was the first since she helped her gain the title of Shadow Broker. She moved to lay on her bed, not bothering with much beside pulling a sheet over her body, praying to any diety listening to grant her one night of dreamless sleep.

Tavrien stood at the airlock, mentally preparing to meet Liara. She hadn’t seen the need to gear up, or bring anyone along. The base would be safe enough or the Asari would have informed her otherwise. Walking the hallways, it was obvious Feron and Liara had been clearing rubble from their fight through the ship. She was obviously taking to her new role well.

“Shepard, I’m glad you came. I was not sure you would come back, even if I asked nicely.” Liara’s gentle voice washed over her. She had been waiting for her to come over the threshold, and Taviren had to admit it was nice that she she found time to meet her at the door. She had been expecting Feron.

“I have discovered that being KIA for two years, and coming back looking younger than ever, is rather unsettling for most old friends.” She smirked, a hint of bitterness seeping through in her tone. “It makes keeping those that will still associate with me a necessity.”

“About that,” Liara glanced at her nervously, ‘you must understand that I will stand by my decision. You were the only one who could save us from the Reaper threat. The universe would be lost without you.”

“Damn it, Liara,” Shepard shouted, rage unchecked, “don’t you hear how crazy that sounds! All the people in the entire galaxy, and nobody else can possibly do anything!”

“Shepard, I apologize. I did not bring you here to ease my conscience. I hope you know that.” Tavrien stood, silent, manicured brow arched, waiting. Realizing that Shepard had nothing to say she sighed and continued, “Kaidan contacted me. I heard about what happened on Horizon, and I’m sorry.”

“What did he want?” she asked impatiently.

“He asked to meet me on the Citadel. I still hold an office there. It helps as a front to go on as much as I ever did.”

“Did you?”

“Yes, I met the Lieutenant.”

“Staff Commander. He was promoted…while I was dead. Just another reminder.”

Liara tentatively reached out, squeezed her hand comfortingly before letting it drop. “Right, anyhow, I met Kaidan. He initially acted out, the way you did when I told him the truth. I told him everything, gave him files to look over. I owed him, and you, that much.”

Shepard looked out the window, stared out into the stars. He knew. He knew for a fact that she hadn’t been lying, and he hadn’t bothered to contact her. Instead of relief, she felt the weight settle more firmly on her shoulders.

“He asked me to deliver something. Well, several things. He asked me to tell you they were from your Secret Santa?” she sounded unsure, probably not aware of human holidays, but wasn’t going to question.

“Please, send them to the ship.” She turned to walk away, and thought better of it. “Liara?” her friend looked up, eyes vulnerable, “It’s good to see you. Once I’ve had more time we will talk, ok?”

“Anytime, Tavrien. You know where to find me.”

She nodded, and retreated back to the SR-2, anticipation and dread filling her stomach.

She found herself at her desk again. This time three carefully wrapped boxes sat in front of her. Two had been mistreated more than the other, but she could see Kaidan’s block print on each tag. Christmas. It had come and gone three times. Twice during her death, and once hardly a month past. He had remembered her for each one. She hugged a package to her chest and cried. She had no idea how much time had past, she was only grateful she had not been disturbed. After the tears dried up, all she felt was numb. The boxes showing just how much he had cared. The grief he had felt, all that he had gone through during the two years she had been dead to the world.

With shaking hands she reached for the most worn box. She unwrapped it delicately. Determined to save the ribbon and the cheerful paper it came in. He had chosen this paper for her, and she would keep it for whatever time she had left. The box held a single, old fashioned skeleton key, and a holograph. She knew the picture instantly, all the time they spent talking about the shore leave they would share in his cabin. They fantasized, they whispered secrets, hopes, dreams, and in the end, would never have the opportunity.

Determined to make it through, she grabbed the next box. It was smaller than the first, her heart pounding after removing the paper to discover a ring box. Fresh tears came unbidden to her eyes as she pried it open. Pillowed in the soft velvet was a solid gold band, but not just any band. Upon closer inspection she found the quote “Moonlight drowns out all but the brightest stars” engraved on the inside. He read the book. She had told him to find it, begged him to read it. She choked on her tears, sobs racking her body. The box was meant for two rings, the twin missing from it’s spot. She didn’t know what it meant, if he kept it or not, but she knew to her core, that he had meant to marry her before Alchera had claimed her. She removed her chain, and slid the ring to rest alongside her dog tags, and tucked them into her shirt near her heart.

The last box sat in front of her, but she set it aside. Choosing instead to open the envelope attached to it.

Tavrien,

I don’t know if you received my email as you haven’t replied. I also wouldn’t put it past Cerberus to keep you from seeing it. This is my best bet, and all I can hope is that Liara didn’t let you down as I did.

I said terrible things to you on Horizon, Shep, and I live with regret everyday. Still, I trust you know that I never could have joined you when you asked. I hate Cerberus with every fiber of my being, but I know that if you had any other options, you wouldn’t be with them now.

Things are desperate with the Alliance, nobody wants to remember the Reapers, and nobody is listening to me about the Collectors. I’m feeling more helpless than ever, and I just found out you are headed to the Omega-4 Relay. I held you in my arms again, changed tune… practically suggesting you might be a clone, then finally realized I should have believed you were real, only to discover you are running headlong into a mission you may not survive.

I am holding out hope for you. Hope that you might return, hope that you might give me a chance to rectify my mistakes, hope that you might still feel the same way I do about you.

Come back to me, Tavrien.

All my love, Kaidan.

Tavrien’s hand covered her mouth, reigning in mournful sounds threatening to tear from her chest. Now, more than ever before, she had to survive. She would survive. Kaidan still loved her. She glanced at the final box, and tucked it into her desk. She made a promise to open it when she defeated the Collectors. She would open it with Kaidan. She would open it, but not until she was back home, where she belonged.

[softlabirint-ru]

Rock Burning Sounds (2018) Mp3

http://www.softlabirint.ru/music/alternative/28145-rock-burning-sounds-2018-mp3.html

Добро пожаловать на сеанс настоящей рок музыки! Ценители качественного звука и мастерского исполнения, ликуйте! Здесь все по-настоящему! Steve Hackett, Stereophonics, Electric Six и многие другие громоздят сумасшедшие аккорды и рифы, а также виртуозно исполняют свои партии! На представляемом лонглее вы услышите не только именитых старичков, но и современных исполнителей – одним словом, всех тех, кто смог донести до нас все могущество и величие рока «старой школы»! Исполнитель: Various Artist Название: Rock Burning Sounds Страна: World Лейбл: VA-Album Rec. Жанр музыки: Rock, Alternative, Hard Rock Дата релиза: 2018 Количество композиций: 120 Формат | Качество: MP3 | 320 kpbs Продолжительность: 08 :03 :48 Размер: 1,10 Гб (+3%) TrackList: 001. The Moles - Out of Control 002. NRBQ - Yes, I Have A Banana 003. David West - Reds for the Blues 004. Guano Apes - Open Your Eyes 005. Anti-Flag - When The Wall Falls 006. Beach Slang - Androgynous [Quiet Slang] 007. Fall Out Boy - Snitches And Talkers Get Stitches And Walkers 008. Matthew Good - There the First Time 009. Collective Soul - Energy 010. Europe - Kingdom United 011. P.O.D. - Burn It Down 012. Wild Belle - Hurricane 013. The Offspring - Gone Away 014. Blackball Bandits - Undead Beauty Queen 015. Starflyer 59 - Terror 016. Drowning Pool ft. Rob Zombie - The Man Without Fear 017. Karma Fire - Ice Cold Raven's Heart 018. Гребля - Скачал, послушал, удалил 019. Cheap Trick - Please Come Home For Christmas 020. Limp Bizkit - Lean On Me 021. Blackball Bandits - Old Man's Revenge 022. Waterparks - Blonde 023. I The Mighty - Symphony of Skin 024. SOiL - Halo 025. The Creatures - The Night Is Warm 026. Stereophonics - Before Anyone Knew Our Name 027. Sleep on It, Derek Discanio - Fireworks 028. Then Comes Silence - My Bones 029. And So I Watch You From Afar - The Endless Shimmering 030. Endo - Simple Lies 031. 10 Years - Ghosts 032. Kalouv - Moo Moo 033. Miyavi, Sky-Hi - Gemstone 034. Bison - Another Level 035. Dirty Fences, Christina Halladay - One More Step 036. The Traditional - 220 037. Ногу свело! - Материки моей планеты 038. Jason Heath & the Greedy Souls - South of Babylon 039. Pale Honey - Lesson Learned 040. Bryan Adams - Please Stay 041. The Jet Age - The Ice Is Cracked 042. Finger Eleven - Sad Exchange 043. Jim White - Far Beyond The Spoken World 044. The Residents - Rushing Like a Banshee 045. Electric Six - The Hotel Mary Chang 046. Ночные Снайперы - ЦОЙ 047. Monster Truck - Saturday Night 048. Insane - Last Lucky Day 049. Strawberry Girls - First Kiss 050. Knuckle Puck - Conduit 051. Leaone - Devil May Care 052. Winger - Madalaine 053. Death Alley - The Sewage 054. Limbs - Sleep 055. Linkin Park - Carousel 056. Serenity - United 057. Heat - Sullen Eyes 058. Tengger Cavalry - Ritual and Redemption 059. PONY - Healthy Brain 060. Europe - Election Day 061. Dirty Heads - Diamonds & Pearls 062. The Black Angels - Currency 063. Seether - Fake It 064. Wavves - Daisy 065. Roger Waters - When We Were Young 066. Sheryl Crow - Alone in the Dark 067. Arjen Anthony Lucassen - The New Real 068. Steve Hackett - Behind the Smoke 069. Ayreon - Day Twelve: Trauma 070. Mike + The Mechanics - Let Me Fly 071. Bob Dylan - Day In, Day Out 072. Hollerado - Don't Shake 073. U2 - Walk To The Water 074. Bad Radiator - I Could Have Been Happy 075. Gun - Favourite Pleasures 076. Rainbow - Mistreated 077. Kasabian - Shoot the Runner 078. Star One - High Moon 079. Black Sabbath - The Illusion Of Power 080. Sixx: A.M. - Wolf At Your Door 081. lvl - Caught Sick 082. Smokie - Don't Play Your Rock'N'Roll To Me 083. Seether - I'll Survive 084. Grave Pleasures - Joy Through Death 085. ViceVersa - Get Down 086. Rockabilly Kitty Rose - Missing the train 087. Jeff Lynne's ELO - Showdown 088. X Ambassadors - Fear (feat. Imagine Dragons) 089. Age of Rebellion - Cruel Intentions 090. Ambeon - Cold Metal 091. Ringo Starr - Standing Still 092. Renegade - The Haunting 093. Genesis - In Hiding (New Stereo Mix) 094. For All We Know - The Big Wheel 095. Joanne Shaw Taylor - Nothin' To Lose 096. Blue Stahli - Three Piece Suit 097. Sinistra Project - World Destroyer 098. Lynch Mob - Black Heart Days 099. The Cult - Bonebag 100. Steelheart - GOT ME RUNNIN' 101. Paul Weller - Satellite Kid 102. Quatro, Scott & Powell - The Price of Love 103. Electric Light Orchestra - Getting to the Point 104. The Isley Brothers - Love, Peace, Happiness 105. Ray Wilson - She Fades Away 106. Stream of Passion - Haunted 107. Robin Trower - Try Love 108. Bai Bang - Telephone Line 109. lvl - The Wasted 110. Jethro Tull - Ring Out These Bells 111. Last Leaf Down - Youth 112. Jorn - Die Young 113. Jonne - Nu'tenmaqnituk 114. DragonForce - Soldiers Of The Wasteland 115. Slade - Mama Weer All Crazee Now 116. The Smashing Pumpkins - Here Is No Why 117. Graham Bonnet Band - Here Comes The Night 118. Yellowcard - Fighting 119. Manic Street Preachers - Leviathan (Remastered) 120. Foreigner - Too Late (Remastered) DOWNLOAD LINKS: Rock Burning Sounds (2018) Mp3

http://www.softlabirint.ru/music/alternative/28145-rock-burning-sounds-2018-mp3.html

[x3no9]

Got yet another Jackett fic started. This one feels very different. Playful, but with some serious real-life type issues. Could Steven really be cheating on a fox like Jack??

[x3no9]

Early sketches less than two weeks ago. I think I have progressed since then 😎 ( hopefully). Thank you @eyecandyeoz and @judithmactir for your constant encouragement.

[x3no9]

Hackett X Harper fanfic and art!

A sketch I did for it...

[x3no9]

I made an animated gif featuring Giant Hackett and Jack. Basically re-drew it and animated it alittle with naughty dialog. ;)

See via the link.

[x3no9]

Just in time for Halloween! My little collection of Horror stories. Mass Effect, Resident Evil and Starfield so far!

Just a little sketch I did for it... Hackett X Illusive Man.

[x3no9]

Thank you @judithmactir for this lovely gift art!

See it posted in my latest chapter too! Can't stop writing!

[x3no9]

Took my sketches and ran them through FOTOR and got this... I love the 1950's looking housewife that it turned Jack Harper into lol.

[x3no9]

Like Cyberpunk themes? Just wrote a Cyberpunk 2077 and Mass Effect crossover fic a few months back...